Home Energy Audit/Retrofits Home energy audit/retrofits allow students to apply thermodynamic principles to planning and executing a retrofit to make an existing home more energy efficient.

The Great Energy Debate This lesson plan explores the energy debate in the U.S. Students will hold a mock congressional committee meeting and make decisions about public lands and energy resources. -

Investigating Renewable Energy Data from Photovoltaic (PV) Solar Panels DATA: Soltrex Online Data. TOOL: Microsoft Excel. SUMMARY: Examine solar energy generation; explore websites that monitor and report solar energy production from panels at many different locations; and consider how much of a school's or home's energy needs could be supplied by solar power.

Energy Policy Students research and make recommendations regarding the petroleum energy policy of the U.S. with respect to other countries.

Selecting Sites for Renewable Energy Projects Students use Google Earth to investigate appropriate locations for a variety of renewable energy projects in the United States. These include projects that use solar energy, bioenergy, hydroelectricity, tidal power, wind energy, wave energy, and geothermal energy.

Hybrid Vehicles: Are They Worth It? In this project, students analyze the costs of gasoline nationwide. They also investigate the cost-effectiveness of purchasing a new hybrid vehicle as opposed to purchasing a new vehicle that runs solely on gasoline.

The Lifestyle Project at Malaspina University-College, British Columbia The project is used in two courses, both with the theme of understanding the environmental implications of our use of energy, exploring personal energy use, and learning about the types of energy available to Canadians. One is a face-to-face course for Education majors, the other is an on-line course available to all upper-level (3rd and 4th year) students.

The Lifestyle Project at the University of North Dakota I use the Lifestyle Project in my Introduction to Environmental Issues class. This 3-week project asks students to make changes to their everyday environmental habits. This helps students realize that they have control of their lives and they can make decisions and make changes if they want to. And, given this empowerment, students can think about their impacts on Earth and their obligations to the planet and our society.

Ideas for Teaching About Energy These ideas were generated at the Teaching Energy Workshop held in May 2009 at the University of Wyoming. The ideas below were inspired by the presentations, activities and interactions at the workshop; they are ...